BCC Ferries patronage FY 12/13 to 18/19

[ozbob]

Spreadsheet > https://backontrack.org/docs/patronage/2018_19/bcc_ferries12_13to18_19.ods

[ozbob]

Facebook ..

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1177724863588384768

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Commuters ditch ferries during Queen's Wharf development

The construction of Brisbane's new casino precinct has been blamed for a drop in the number of ferry commuters thanks to CityCat and CityHopper services forced to travel at reduced speeds.

TransLink performance data for the past year shows almost 200,000 commuters abandoned ferry travel from October to December last year.

During that time, 1.58 million trips were taken, down from 1.77 million between July and September the same year.

TransLink attributed the drop to Queen's Wharf construction work "which requires Brisbane CityCat and CityHopper services to travel at reduced speed limits to ensure no wash is created by the vessels".

Inner-city Brisbane's Queen's Wharf will become home to four new luxury hotels, more than 50 new bars and restaurants, 2000 residential apartments, and the equivalent of 12 football fields of public space when the development opens in 2022.

While ferry patronage has slowly increased since the end of last year, 100,000 fewer trips have been taken this quarter compared with the start of the 2018-19 financial year. The first quarter of this year saw 1.67 million trips taken.

Brisbane City Council has been pushing to bring commuters back to the river, launching free off-peak travel on all buses and ferries for seniors at the start of October. The first of its seven new double-decker CityCats, each with a $3.7 million price tag, hit the water in November.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said overall public transport patronage had risen by 3.58 per cent since last year, with 50.9 million trips taken between July and September in south-east Queensland.

He said train patronage saw the biggest increase, with 4.6 per cent growth (from 14.4 million to 15.07 million), coinciding with 430 new weekly train services introduced in late July, almost 1000 days after the 2016 train driver crisis forced rail services to be cut.

The head of TransLink, Matt Longland, said the data would be displayed on a new dashboard, and followed the introduction of a new public transport survey platform this year.

"The new public transport survey has resulted in an almost quadrupling of feedback, providing unprecedented insights that can only be obtained by such a significant sample size, and playing a critical role in continually improving TransLink's services and addressing customer concerns," Mr Longland said.